Man conned his own father out of £500,000 while he suffered with dementia

David Bickel left his father deep in debt with just 48p to his name

A former soldier who duped his elderly father out of hundreds of thousands of pounds in his final years has been jailed for four years.

David Bickel, 58, from Attleborough, Norfolk, fraudulently gained lasting power of attorney over his dad, Peter, after he was diagnosed with dementia in 2015, police say.

This allowed Bickel to make withdrawals from his bank account, cash in investments and sell Peter’s home without his informed consent, netting the fraudster £480,201.13.

Bickel’s father was moved into a residential care home but his son failed to provide him with a personal allowance.

Peter was left in ‘considerable’ debt as his care fees went unpaid, and died in 2021 with just 48p to his name.

The empty estate meant his 16 other surviving relatives, including three grandchildren, were left with virtually no inheritance despite being named in his will.

The fraud came to light when he was nearly evicted from his care home a few months before his death because of unpaid fees of more than £85,000, according to The Eastern Daily Press.

Prosecutors couldn’t figure out how Bickel had spent so much money (Picture: East Anglia News Service)

Prosecutors said there was no obvious reason how so much money was spent by Bickel, who had no problems with gambling, drink or drugs.

A judge told the defendant he served his country with ‘distinction’ but ‘took advantage of your father’s ill health and started taking his money’.

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